Guard post or protective stanchions are commonly found in industrial settings, parking lot structures, and around drive-thru lanes at fast food restaurants. These structures typically provide a protective barrier for building structures or pedestrian walkways for the purpose of preventing damage or injury that could occur in a vehicular collision. Typically, guard posts are formed of an elongated tubular steel exterior with a core of concrete.
As commonly seen in construction, a guard post, having two opposite ends, will have one end embedded in a fixed surface while the opposite end extends outwardly from the fixed surface to about three to four feet. In most instances, the exterior surface of the guard posts is painted to protect against corrosion due to environmental exposure. Additionally, painting a post with certain colors can aid with improving its visibility in dimly light conditions.
Despite the advantages that painting provides, prolonged exposure to the environment can still cause unsightly surface corrosion and a need for labor-intensive repetitive maintenance. Over time, the cost associated with maintaining the esthetic appearance of these posts can become substantial. Recognizing the desire to minimize the issues that stem from maintaining the appearance of these posts, the present inventor has created special covers for guard posts that maintain an esthetic appearance while practically eliminating the need for repetitive maintenance.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,583 describes a protective sleeve to be used with stanchions or guard posts. The patent discloses an elongated tubular sleeve, made of a durable and resilient plastic material that can be easily fitted over a guard post by receiving it into its interior cavity. The sleeves can be manufactured in many colors to improve visibility and the material can be treated with chemicals to resist ultra-violet deterioration.
The problems associated with maintenance for the most common type of guard post described above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,583, but the product is not intended for use with other types of posts, particularly the type commonly found surrounding fuel pumps at gasoline stations.
These posts are typically formed of the same materials, tubular steel with a concrete core, but the shape and construction is vastly different. Generally, these guard posts are of a substantially semi-circular or arch-like shape having its two opposite ends embedded in a fixed surface adjacent to the fuel pump. As described above, painting is used to maintain esthetic appearance and improve visibility of these guard posts. Consequently, the same maintenance problems occur due to prolonged environmental exposure.